Letter-box.



Patented Aug.vl4, |900.

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ilivrrnn STATES PATENT OFFICE CHARLES G. FOIJSOM, OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA.

LETTER-BOX.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 655,898, dated August 14, 1900. Application filed March 16, 1900. Serial No. 8,886. (N0 model.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CHARLES G. FoLsoM, a citizen of the United States, residing at South Bend, in the county of St. Joseph and State of Indiana, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in Letter-Boxes; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, ref# erence being had to the accompanying draw ings, and to the iigures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specitication.

My invention relates to inail-boxes adapted for street use; and its object is to provide a simple and inexpensive box which may be readily opened and closed.

The construction of the improvement Will be fully described hereinafter in connection with the accom pan yin gdrawin gs and its novel features defined in the appended claims.

In the drawings, Figure l is a view in perspective of a mail-box embodying my invention in closed position. Fig. 2 is a similar vienr with the door or cover open, and Fig. 3 is a kdetail perspective view of the door of the box.

The reference-nu1neral 1 designates the body of the box, which is preferably formed from a single piece of metal bent to U shape.

The bottom 2 of the box has its edges turned down at right angles to form flanges 3, which rest against and are riveted to the ends of t-he body I. This construction adapts the box to iit upon a square suppoitingpost, the depending parallel flanges being secured tothe post by nails or like fastenings.

One end of the box is closed by an end wall 4L, and the opposite end is partially closed by an end piece 5. The space belowT the end 5 is closed by a pivotally=secured door of novel forni, as shown in Fig. 3, comprising a plate 6, having its ends bent at right angles to form parallel ears 7, by means of which the door is secured to the box, a pivot-rod 8, secured in bearings in the cover, serving as the pivotal support. The lower end of the cover-plate 6 is formed with a slot N9, through which projects the end of a tongue I0, secured to the under side ofthe bottom of the box and pro*- vided with an opening Il, adapted to receive a padlock or like fastening for locking the door of the box. As there is at no time any Weight to be borne by the door, itvvill be seen that the frictional engagement of the ears 7 With the body portion will be suiiicient to hold the door in any position it may assume. This enables the door to be of light construc-v tion and cheaply made.

A suitable slot 12 is provided, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 2, for the insertion of 1et= ters or other mail-matter.

It is designed to construct the box of sheet metal, and it Will be apparent from the fore* going description, in connection with t-he drawings, that it may be manufactured eco= nomically, the body thereof consisting of a single piece of met-al bent to the required shape.

The friction-al engagement of the ears of the door with the sides of the box is an im; portant characteristic feature of the inveng tion, since by this means the door is main'- tained in open position to permit the contents of the box to Vbe removed. l

As shownin Fig. 2, the door G is pivotally mounted at a point intermediate the ends of its ears, so that a portion of said door operates entirely Within the interior of the box. This serves, While the door isl being opened, to force any of the contents of the box which may be located in the path of movement of the door toward the bottom of the box and into a position where it can be readily removed by the carrier. Inaddition to this, however, the particular manner of mounting the door serves an important purpose. As shown, the door has its pvotpoint near the upper portion of the opening. This causes the outer end of the door to move upwardly, so that when in its open position it projects outwardly above the opening and forms a pro-` jecting cover for said opening. -The advantages of this construction lie in the fact that in removing the contents of the box, espe= cially during inclement Weather, said contents are kept dry, the carrier being able to perform the necessary Work entirely under cover of the door and its ears in an'obvi'ous manner. t

I claims-f l. A mailbox comprising a body portion; a bottom; end Walls, one of said Walls having an opening for the removal of the contents; and a door for said opening, pivotally connected to said body portion and having parallel ears frictionally engaging the inner sides of the box, said f rictional engagement holding lthe door in the positions in which it may be placed, said door forming a projecting cover above said opening when in open position.

2. A mail-box comprising a body portion; a bottom; end Walls, one of said Walls having an opening for the removal of the contents; and a door` for said openings, having parallel ears pivotally secured to said body portion, and frictionally engaging the inner sides of the box for holding the door in the positions in which it may be placed, the pivotal connection being intermediate the ends of said ears, the oliter portion of said door forming a projecting cover above said opening when in open position.

3. A mail-box comprising a body portion; a bottom; end Walls, one of said walls having an opening for the removal of the contents; and a door for said openings, having parallel ears pivotally secured to said body portion, and frictionally engaging the inner sides of the box for holding the door in the positions in Which it may be placed, the pivotal connection being intermediate the ends of said ears, said door having a portion of its length operating solely Within the box, the outer portion of said door forming a projecting cover above said opening when in open position.

4. A mail-box comprising a body portion; a bottoni therefor, said bottom being of less length than the body portion, to form a recess at one end thereof; an end wall closing one end of the box, said Wall extending downward from the top of the body portion to a point intermediate the top and bottom Whereby an opening will be formed leading into the box near its bottom and a door having parallel ears frictionally engaging the sides of the box, said frictional engagement holding the door in the positions in which it may be placed pivotally mounted to normally close said opening, the pivotal connection being at a point intermediate the ends of the ears, said door being of greater leng-th than the opening closed'thereby,'tl1e inner portion operating solely within the box, said door forming a projecting cover above said opening when in open position.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES G. FOLSOM.

Witnesses:

JAMES DU SHANE, EDWARD F. DUBAIL. 

